Wednesday Workout: Spin & Total Body AMRAP Workout {Featuring TIEM spin shoes}

Good morning! Before I get to the workout, I wanted to remind you that tonight, I am hosting a workout at the New Balance Flagship Store in Brighton at 6:30pm. You can find more details & sign up here.

For now, though, let’s talk about spinning. Confession: Up until about 4 years ago, I hated spinning! I didn’t understand why people would want to use their time at the gym to sit on a bike- however, now that indoor cycling has become a “thing”, I am totally on board with spinning. Why? I like that the classes are to the beat of the music, use weights and do exercises to work body parts besides just the legs. I realize that they do not mimic an outdoor ride, but no one ever said they’re supposed to 😉 They’re just a great cardio workout.

Now that I have a spin bike at home, I love spinning even more. It was so great to have a source of low-impact cardio that could be done in the comforts of my own home throughout the cold winter months, but there was something I was missing: spin shoes. I didn’t really “need” them when it came to going to classes since most studios rent them to you (or they’re included in the price of the ride), but at home I really wanted a pair as they do make the whole riding experience better.

TIEM Athletic couldn’t have contacted me at a better time because I had just been researching various shoe brands to check out. What I love about the TIEM slipstream shoes is that they look and feel like a normal sneaker. They aren’t the big, clunky, non-bendable spin shoes that we all think of when we think of spin shoes. These could be worn as a shoe to and from the gym and no one would know they were spin shoes!

True story: Monday at the gym, one of  the trainers was wearing a pair of TIEM slipstream shoes and I told her I had the same ones. Her client was shocked to hear that the shoes on her feet were spin shoes and not just regular sneakers. The trainer said she was tired of lugging around multiple pairs of shoes and that the TIEM ones were great because she could wear them to train AND teach her spin class. We agreed we wouldn’t wear them to go running or do any sort of high impact workout- because they are really not made for that- but that they work great for what she was doing with them.

Want to know what else they work great for? This workout I’m sharing with you today! Why, you ask? Because this workout has you going from the bike to off the bike every other song, which is a much more enjoyable experience with the sneaker-esque TIEM Athletic spin shoes.

The way the workout works is you’ll do one song on the bike, then you’ll do an AMRAP of the exercises listed above for “off bike” songs for the duration of that song. You’ll need a pair of dumbbells (or two pairs if you want to go heavier/lighter on some exercises). For the spin songs, I’ve also included suggestions in terms of position & resistance if you decide to go with the play list I’m showing you below.

I’ve only had these shoes for a few weeks, but I’m already totally loving them- they really just enhance the spinning experience so much! I’m considering getting SPD pedals for my road bike, too, although clipping in and out at stop lights & intersections kind of scares me, lol.

If you’re in the market for a multi-purpose spin shoe, definitely check out TIEM Athletic- they’ve got various colors to choose from & the staff is so nice! They often do pop up sales at the various spin studios in and around Boston, so if you follow them on Instagram you can stay in the loop.

Thanks, again, TIEM, for providing me with some awesome spin shoes!

Questions for you: Do you like spinning? Do you bike outdoors? Do you have your own spin shoes?

Five on Friday {4.29.16}

Remember me? I’ve missed you 🙂 I’m popping in quickly to share some things that might be of interest to you before you kick off the weekend!

  • Changing things up- More on this next week, but  at a high level, I’ll be changing things up a bit on B2B going forward. I can’t imagine stopping blogging all together, but I do realize that some things have to change a bit in order for it to work better. BUT, I think it will be great, so I hope you’ll stick along for the ride!
  • Legacy Place’s Spring Cycle for Friendship & Block Party for Best Buddies This Sunday (May 1st) from 8am to 1pm (rides will be 45 minutes and offered on the hour- so 8-8:45, 9-9:45, etc.), Rev’d Indoor Cycling studio will provide bikes, high-energy instruction and complementary shoes for a killer ride… and a live DJ will be play the perfect music to pump you up and keep you moving! After your spin, you’ll have a chance to do a Yoga Cool Down class hosted by Stil Studio and you’ll receive a sweet swag bag. Each ride is $30, but 100% of that goes to Best Buddies. Lastly, there will be a block party for riders & their guests from 12-1 in The Gardens with refreshments, food samples and games. Sounds awesome, right? If you’re around, sign up quickly because space is limited! I can’t make it, unfortunately, but my girl Sherri will be there, so say “hi” if you go!
  • Girls Night at Barcelona in the South End Last Saturday night I had a chance to get together with some of my oldest girlfriends in the city and we had such an awesome time! We started at my sister’s apartment for cheese & wine and then went to Barcelona in the South End. Everything was FANTASTIC!!! But even better was getting to chat with some of my favorite ladies.

 

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  • Fasten Ok, I know there are “Uber-like” companies popping up all the time, but I recently tried Fasten and am totally hooked. I don’t know how they did it, but for me to get from Newton Corner to the Dorchester/Southie line it was $10.81… and then after dinner with the girls I went to get an Uber and it was X1.6 surcharge so I opened up Fasten, ordered a ride and was only charged around $7 for the whole trip from the South End to Newton Corner. I couldn’t believe it!!! And both drivers I had were very nice and professional and had clean cars. I highly suggest using this link to download the app and use their services. You get $15 by using that link/code (code= MO5551) and I get $15- pretty awesome deal if you ask me!
  • BoxFIIT Updates- I finally submitted ALL of my videos for the BoxFIIT certification that I worked on for months and to say it felt great is a huge understatement! Thanks to Nicole’s amazing help, I feel really good about my submission and I CANNOT WAIT to start teaching hopefully both at The Club and at GymIt here in Watertown.

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That does it for me! Gosh, just writing this post solidified how much I LOVE blogging and sharing things with you. I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday and a wonderful weekend. Tomorrow is my bridal shower which is so crazy exciting! Sh*t is getting real now!

Scenes from the Weekend

Good morning and Happy Monday 🙂 Did you guys have a good weekend? I sure did! It kind of started on Thursday night when I hosted book club, continued on to Friday night when RM and I tried a new place in East Boston and then to Saturday/Sunday when my sister and I tried out a class at the new Handlebar Indoor Cycling Studio in Harvard Square and then headed up to Vermont for a quick one night getaway with our parents. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking- enjoy!

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Great book! We all highly suggest it. Rose was delicious too 😉

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I grilled pizzas- they were fantastic!

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Love my SMC girls.

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We found a new place on Maverick Street in East Boston- it’s a market/café called Maverick Market and it has a small menu and beer and wine. We had some ginger BBQ chicken sliders and a spicy shrimp and veggie stir fry. We were so impressed with everything!

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Because sweaty/post spin pictures are always necessary…

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Studio Review: Cyc Fitness Boston

Disclaimer: I was provided some free classes in exchange for this post. As always, these are my honest thoughts and opinions on the studio I’m reviewing.

Last week I had the opportunity to check out a new Boston indoor cycling studio, Cyc Fitness, which is located at 50 Park Plaza inside the David Barton gym. The gym itself is really easy to locate AND they validate your parking ticket at a near by garage so you only have to pay $7, which is a steal in Boston. I was able to bring my sister with me and we had no problem getting to the gym and checked in. Since Cyc is inside the David Barton gym, you have access to their locker room, which was beautiful and fully equipped with everything you’d need to get ready for the day or night after your workout. Checking out nice locker rooms is such a treat since the Y and BSC aren’t known for having fancy, well equipped ones 😉

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We got to the class in plenty of time to change our shoes and get set up on the bike. The room is set up in a horseshoe-like shape and it seemed as though it was really big. I was happy that our class was mostly full since I think it makes the class better when you can feed off of everyone’s energy. The bikes were pretty standard bikes, but we both mentioned how we loved the shoes- maybe it’s because they were brand new and therefore more cushiony? Who knows, but I’ll take it! Another difference was the weights. Unlike using a bar at Flywheel or small hand weights at Recycle, B/Spoke, etc., we used small sand bags which was kind of cool. With all the indoor cycling studios in Boston I’m happy when studios try and do something that sets them apart from all the others.

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This Week: Workouts, Flywheel’s Anniversary & Things I’m Looking Forward To

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend. For the first time in far too long, I had a weekend with no scheduled plans. It was fantastic! I also took my 2 rest days of the week on Saturday and Sunday, and although it was nice to know I didn’t have to schedule in a workout, it caused me to go a little stir crazy. I much prefer taking rest days dispersed throughout the week rather than in a row, but since I knew I’d be spending the weekend with RM, I figured I’d just get my workouts out of the way during the week so I could go with the flow over the weekend.

Before I get to my workouts for the week, I wanted to share some really exciting things going on at Flywheel this week. They are celebrating their one year anniversary of the Boston location, which is reason enough to celebrate, right? They’ve got all sorts of really awesome rides this week, including themed rides, live DJ rides and dueling instructor rides. I was invited to take a class and will be going to a class at 5:30 tonight with Christina Lodde, who lead the Barry’s Bootcamp Roof Deck Workout. I’ve heard great things about her spin classes so I’m so excited! If you’ve never been to Flywheel, I definitely suggest checking it out this week. Head to this site to see details on the classes and to sign up.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught this workout in my 6am class and then did 15 minutes on the elliptical.
  • Tuesday- I had to cancel my bootcamp since it was pouring, so I headed to one of my favorite instructors classes. The verdict? I loved it! It was a crazy class, consisting of 50 jump squats to start, followed by 13 exercises done for 60 seconds each and then in between each exercise we had 60 seconds to complete 10 strict (chest to ground) burpees. So, yes, we did 130 burpees. Yikes! We finished class with some awesome upper body burners and I left there barely able to hold my gym bag. #holyshakyarms

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn. I changed up the format a little to somewhat mimic the bootcamp I went to on Tuesday. We only did about 70 strict burpees, but it was still killer. I’ll post it for you this week!
  • Thursday- I was able to reschedule my bootcamp and teach it on Thursday instead. We used the benches and did some suicides and walking lunges and all sorts of good stuff. The best part is that the weather has cooled down so we are able to work super hard without dripping with sweat!
  • Friday- I went to the Lynnfield BSC during lunch and busted out a quick, but good workout. I ran 2 miles then walked the rest to get to 20 minutes before doing some 1 armed KB swings, double armed KB swings, figure 8 KB squats, band walks, torso twists and TRX planks. In and out in 35 minutes and burned over 300 calories. I’ll take it!

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  • Saturday & Sunday- Rest days. RM and I walked a bunch while shopping on Saturday and then we went for a walk on Sunday morning and walked around the city. Active rest days are great 🙂

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m going to Flywheel after work tonight- can’t wait!
  • Tuesday- Teaching my bootcamp at 5:30.
  • Wednesday- I have a sub for my UXF Burn class so that I can go to the New Balance Girls Night Out event. This is an extra special one because we are celebrating 25 years of Susan G. Komen and the run will be lead by Sherri D’Allessandro. If you’re interested in joining, sign up here.
  • Thursday- I may hold an “extra” bootcamp class on Thursday.
  • Friday- I think it will be a rest day.
  • Saturday- Finally back at the Oak Square YMCA for my kickboxing class… I haven’t see my members there in so long!!
  • Sunday- Probably my second rest day of the week.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

This is going to be a fitness-filled week, which is always fun. I can’t wait to get back to Flywheel as it’s been a super long time. I’m also really excited to get to go to my first New Balance Girls Night Out event. Athena always raves about these events, so I’m glad I decided to get a sub so I could attend. I think I get to see my friend Jess’s new baby girl on Friday night which would be so awesome!! And, lastly, Saturday I’m cashing in my Groupon for Dry Bar before going to a wedding with RM and his family. I figured it was a great time to use it!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Have you attended a New Balance Girls Night out event? What are you looking forward to this week?